Does anyone know of any "Intentional Communities" that are made up of Orthodox Christians? (Of course, all monasteries are "intentional communities" but I'm asking about any for non-monastics - married couples and families, singles who have taken no vows, etc.).

What is an "intentional community"? The following website has a definition:

"Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives, alternative communities, and other projects where people strive together with a common vision."

Doesn't the OCA have a community of married couples who live a monastic life in common with other married couples somewhere in NY or the NorthEast Coast.

Yeah, New Skete does. They live alongside the monastics there. I'm interested in any not attached to a monastery. I think the New Skete situation is pretty unique as far as any other Orthodox monastery I can think of.

I believe Maria is referring to the "companions" community at New Skete where husbands and wives live monastically but married. I do not know the specifics of this community but I do not think there is a precedent for it in Orthodox tradition. Generally, when husbands and wives mutually decide to live as monastics they either do so with the blessing of their spiritual father in their own homes, living as "brother and sister", or they agree to join separate monasteries.

Now, for those who have families or otherwise are not in a position to "leave the world", the best precedent for such communities are the small towns, villages, and residents that tend to spring up around monasteries as around a life-giving spring. You can see remnants of such ancient examples of this in the monastic city that developed around the Glendalough monastery in Ireland, where St. Kevin's cave is found. Today we see people moving close to St. Anthony's Monastery in Arizona, the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in WV, and other monasteries in America and throughout the world. When people live in close proximity to such places, they greatly benefit from exposure to the communal life of the monastics and are united by a common spiritual father and spiritual struggle.

I believe Maria is referring to the "companions" community at New Skete where husbands and wives live monastically but married. I do not know the specifics of this community but I do not think there is a precedent for it in Orthodox tradition. Generally, when husbands and wives mutually decide to live as monastics they either do so with the blessing of their spiritual father in their own homes, living as "brother and sister", or they agree to join separate monasteries.

Yeah, that's the one, but not what I'd like to learn more about.

Quote

Now, for those who have families or otherwise are not in a position to "leave the world", the best precedent for such communities are the small towns, villages, and residents that tend to spring up around monasteries as around a life-giving spring. You can see remnants of such ancient examples of this in the monastic city that developed around the Glendalough monastery in Ireland, where St. Kevin's cave is found. Today we see people moving close to St. Anthony's Monastery in Arizona, the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in WV, and other monasteries in America and throughout the world. When people live in close proximity to such places, they greatly benefit from exposure to the communal life of the monastics and are united by a common spiritual father and spiritual struggle.

This makes more sense. Thanks.

Logged

Happy shall he be, that shall take and dash thy little ones against the rock. Alleluia.

Those New Skete people seem a bit kookie with Catholic and non-Christian icons and such in their churches. I think they have a Ghadi one as well. They were with some Eastern Catholic church before moving to OCA, and I think solo before that.